Did Keno Really Build the Great Wall of China?

According to a legend, a ruler in Ancient China invented the game of Keno, and used the money to fund the Great Wall of China

One of the funniest and most interesting conspiracy
theories is that the Great Wall of China was actually built thanks to a
gambling game. Yes, we’ve all heard about the Great Wall of China, the one
landmark on Earth that is visible from space. There are some who believe that
the entire 5,500 mile stretch was built mostly from cash derived from Keno. The
game of Keno was invented in China between 205 and 187 BC. But is there any
truth to the theory?

What is Keno?

Keno is a gambling game played at modern casinos, but is
also often offered as a game in some lotteries. Players wager by choosing
numbers ranging from 1 through 80. After all the players make their wagers, 20
numbers are randomly drawn. Each casino set its own series of payouts, and the
player is paid based on how many numbers were chosen, the number of matches out
of those chosen numbers, and the wager. There are a number of keno “paytables”,
or payments specifically designed by the casino. Usually there is a larger
house edge than other games in that casino. The house edge can range between 4
and 35 percent.

All accounts points that the game was invented in China.
Legend has it that the invention of the game saved an ancient city in time of
war. Then, the widespread popularity helped raise funds for the Great Wall of
China. In modern China, the idea of using lotteries to fund a public
institution was not accepted before the late 19th century.

There are no documents for a Chinese lottery before 1847
when the Portuguese government of Macao granted a license to lottery operators.

In Ancient China, the legend is that players played the
game using sheets printed Chinese characters, often usually only the first 80
characters of the Thousand Character Classic. Eventually, Chinese immigrants
introduced the game of keno to the West world when they sailed across the
Pacific Ocean and helped building the First Transcontinental Railroad in the
19th century.

At the beginning, Keno was known as “boc hop bu” and “pick-apu”
in the Western World. By 1866, the popularity of the game made it a common
gambling game in Houston, Texas, under the name Keno.

The Theory

Whether or not the theory that the Great Wall of China
was build thanks to Keno, the fact of the matter is both have a long history
that has surpassed the ravishes of time. The Wall still stands, and while Keno
has been changed through the years, the game is still popular among lotteries
and casinos.

According to the legend, the ruler of the Han Dynasty,
Cheung Leung, found himself tied up in a difficult war, and no funds. The war
depleted the city’s funds and resources. He reached the end of his limits, and
could not tax the city’s residents any more than he already had. Leung had no
way of raising funds to end the war.

So, he invented a new game called Ken, a lottery-type
game. The game became widely popular, and helped Leung end the war. The story
continues that the same method was used later, when funds ran out while
building the Great Wall of China. Is it true? Well, let’s leave it to our
imagination.

But it is true that later dynasties, including the Han
Dynasty, built newer and renovated of the Great Wall of China. Keno could have
played a role in that, or might have not.

Great Wall of China Fast Facts

It seems such an amazing bit of trivia that the Great
Wall was built thanks to a game of keno. Such a bg wall funded by such a little
game? But with that in mind, let’s check some other trivia regarding the Great
Wall of China.

- While the wall cannot be seen with a naked eye from
space, it can be seen with aid

- The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) used glutinous rice flour
to make the binding material to bind the bricks

- The sections of the Wall you see on most pictures were
built by the Ming Dynasty. It was the last part of the wall that was built and
features many tall watch-towers

- During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, many
bricks were taken away to use in building homes, farms, or reservoirs

- In some areas, the Great Wall is wide enough and you
are able to drive a car over it

- The most popular legend is the one of Men Jiangnu’s
Bitter Weeping, whose husband died building the wall, and her weeping was so
bitter, that a section collapsed, revealing her husband’s bones